Extruded shape inlaid into a concrete mass, for the construction of balcony railings and dividing panels

ABSTRACT

Each external lateral surface of each side of said shape has at least one lateral projection (9) defining the retaining means of the profile within the set concrete mass (20) and at the same time providing the vertical stability means.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This instant invention finds its field of application in a extruded shape specifically designed to be embedded in a concrete mass or settable material, such as that belonging to a slab, beam or wall, to serve as support and construction means for a panel comprising a balcony railing or room divider substantially perpendicular to the plane of said concrete mass.

In the herewith following specification and claims, the following terms used herein broadly possess the following meaning:

EXTRUDED SHAPE: This is any longitudinal construction element having a constant cross section, preferably obtained by extrusion in aluminium, plastic material or any other material capable of being obtained by extrusion forming a monolithic shape.

INLAID or EMBEDDED: Means the particularity of being submerged within a setting mass, for example a concrete mass.

MASS OF SETTING MATERIAL: This term covers all setting material, preferably applied to concrete, and identifies a slab, floor, wall, beam and any structural part or not, made of concrete, or any other composite or component that can replace concrete to the same effect.

BALCONY RAILING: This term is understood to mean a protection railing, surface or structure applied to a balcony and substantially perpendicular to the insertion plane inside the setting material.

PANEL: Any surface capable of offering containment, protection or division of environments. Said panels can be of any material, particularly following the increasing construction trend employing glass plates, without this implying any limitation to the instant invention, meaning by “plate” any glass, safety glass or tempered glass panel.

BACKGROUND OF THIS INSTANT INVENTION

It is known that placing a vertical panel that configuring a screen or dividing surface flush to a slab, floor or wall without observing any retention structure , that is to allow said panel to emerge from the concrete mass without the apparent retention means such as “L” profiled shapes it is necessary to proceed to inlay into the mass of setting material a longitudinal shape extending throughout all the extension of the referred plate or panel.

This inlaid or embedded longitudinal shape must have the particularity of presenting a cavity opened upwards wherein the plate or panel is firmly seated and retained.

The use of traditional fitting means, such as “L” shapes having one of its flat flanges integral with the concrete surface and the other flange, usually at 90° thereof, linked to the plate, may blur the desired aesthetic effect, since said “L” shapes must have a certain dimensional relevance to achieve the minimum security conditions. On the other hand, if frame shapes are used within which the plate is placed and retained, although the task of securing the plate to the concrete mass is met, it presents an aesthetic solution that is not always the one sought by the designer or architect, since these frames must also have relatively low relevant dimensions while at the same time they need to be secured to the concrete mass by means of columns, struts, squares or the like, which not only adds aesthetic connotations not sought if it is desired to avoid the visible employment of such shapes, but also implies an increase labour and component costs for achieving securing said frame and the plates to the frame.

These balcony protection panels and/or room dividers are usually projected perpendicular to the surface to which they are attached, without this limiting the scope of the present invention.

Placing a plate flush to a slab, for example a plate of tempered glass or the like, has a high aesthetic content as said surface emerges from the surface of the slab or concrete mass without the apparent use of a structural support component and retention means, being then ideal not to interrupt the line of union of said plate to the slab by the visible absence of a fitting or profiled shapes.

To this end it is necessary to insert and fix in an immovable position the lower portion of said plate inside the concrete mass. Introducing the aforementioned lower edge of the plate (for example a tempered glass plate) directly into the concrete mass is not a reliable solution and brings about safety problems, aesthetic, termination and technical inconveniences, being this the reason why the use of embedded shapes inside the concrete mass is needed, such as upward open sockets, receptors of the lower edge of said plate.

These profiled shapes inserted into the surface from which the plate projects upwards, need to provide a longitudinal cavity open upwards to receive in it said end of the plate. Ideally, if it is desired to respect the above indicated aesthetic conditions, the upper end of the profile must be flush with said concrete surface.

However, using embedded shapes flush with the concrete mass presents several inconveniencies as next considered:

-   -   a) To be able to lodge the plate inside the embedded profiled         shape it is essential to have the longitudinal cavity free of         any concrete residue. Indeed, when placing the embedded profiled         shape flush with the surface of the concrete mass, inevitably a         determined amount of concrete is introduced into said cavity,         representing a serious problem as these undesirable deposits         prevents the correct alignment of the plate therein inserted, as         said cavity presents random irregularities produced by said         deposits.     -   b) Also, often and depending on the length of the railing, the         profiled shapes are usually made-up by several shapes which         length should be equivalent to the length of the coplanar         adjacent plates, making it necessary to align within the same         horizontal the several intervening shapes, so that the plates         are all with their upper edge aligned and parallel to the slab         or floor, this increasing the total cost of the fittings.     -   c) It is also necessary to ensure that the vertical axis of the         cavity upwards opened of each profiled shape is contained in the         same plane, preferably a vertical plane, otherwise the panels         would be in different planes.     -   d) It is also desirable that said profiled shapes embedded         within the concrete mass at the moment of pouring said concrete         achieves the necessary positional stability in front of the         limited hydraulic pressure of the concrete mass in fluidic         state.

OBJECT OF THIS INSTANT INVENTION

It is a first object of this invention a rectilinear profiled shaped plinth, defining an upwards open cavity of constant cross section to be inlaid or embedded into a concrete mass or similar setting component wherein said shape is contained and immobilized, leaving its longitudinal entrance substantially flush with the face or exposed surface of said mass, without allowing entering into said cavity any particle of the settable component, thus determining in the inside of said shape a longitudinal cavity free of any foreign component housing therein a plate forming a guardrail for balconies, or dividing wall of rooms.

It is also an object of the invention that said profile includes means for aligning longitudinally its various sections, preferably horizontal or parallel to the surface to which said profile is embedded.

It is further an object of this instant invention having said plate emerging from the level of the concrete structure within which it is inserted without visible fittings, frames, profiles or supporting and retention mouldings.

Another object of the invention is that said profiled shape has means for the selective regulation of the alignment of its several sections with their vertical axes contained in a same plane substantially perpendicular to the slab or floor to which it is embedded.

It is also object of the invention a profiled shape inlaid or embedded within the concrete mass with retention means contributing to the dimensional stability of the profiled shape at the moment of pouring the settable material surrounding said shape.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

EXTRUDED SHAPE INLAID INTO A CONCRETE MASS, FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF BALCONY RAILINGS AND DIVIDING PANELS, comprising a longitudinal constant cross-section profiled shape formed by a bottom and side walls within defining a cavity with an longitudinal entrance opening at its upper edge, inside which sits and holds a plate, characterized in that adjacent to said upper edge said cavity has a laminar sheet constituting an upper lid flush to said concrete mass surface, being this laminar sheet monolithically joined to the mutually facing internal faces of said cavity side walls and extended between said opposite faces, being the union of said laminar sheet to the respective side wall determined by a corresponding longitudinal tear line extended over the entire length of the profiled shape and defining a linear and longitudinal reduction of the cross section of lesser thickness of said sheet, constituting said tear lines the selective opening to said cavity; said profiled shape having longitudinally alignment means for a first length of said shape with respect to a second length of similar characteristics; having each outer lateral face of said profiled shape at least one lateral projection defining the retaining means of the profiled shape within the setting material, defining at the same time means for the vertical alignment of each profiled shape within a same substantially vertical plane perpendicular to the surface of said setting material.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ENCLOSED DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows the top lateral perspective of a profiled shape of this invention with the tear-off sheet in the process of being partially torn;

FIG. 2 shows in partial enlargement cross section AA of FIG. 1 showing the construction of the tear-off sheet while joined monolithically to the sides of the shape:

FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of one of the possible constructions of the profiled shape of the invention, with the cavity entrance mouth closed by the tear-off sheet still in a closing position and without the means of horizontal and vertical alignment of the length of profiled shape;

FIG. 4 shows in perspective a construction of the profiled shape of this instant invention, with the laminar sheet covering the cavity opening already removed (torned) torn (ie, removed) with said shape embedded in the already set concrete mass, illustrated partially sectioned, showing two possible constructions of the support means and vertical alignment means of the profiled shape section; and

FIG. 5 shows in frontal elevation a profiled shape according to this instant invention, showing one of the possible installations of the railing or partition plate, with the railing at its upper end and the horizontal alignment means.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THIS INSTANT INVENTION

For the purposes of exemplifying the preferred embodiments of the present invention, attached are the following drawings illustrating same, in support of the below given description thereof, being these embodiment interpreted as one of the many possible constructions of the invention, hence it is not appropriate to assign any limiting value thereto, including within the scope of protection of the invention the possible equivalent means to those illustrated, while being determined the scope of the present invention by the attached claims in the corresponding Claims chapter. Likewise, in these Figures, the same references identify equal and/or equivalent means.

The profiled shape shown in FIG. 1 is based on a known rectilinear and constant cross section shape, consisting in a bottom (1) and side walls (2, 3). Preferably this bottom and side walls are monolithic, product of the extrusion in a non-ferrous material through a matrix. Each side wall (2, 3) is preferably slightly divergent upwards from bottom (1), and each side presents respectively an inner surface (2 a, 3 a) and the opposite outer surfaces (2 b, 3 b).

In FIG. 3 it is observed this shape has a vertical axis “X”; coming back on FIG. 1, the profiled shape has at its upper end (18) an inlet mouth (4) which opens upwards allowing access from above to the internal cavity of the shape. At its upper end said shape presents on each side of its outer surface of the respective laterals (2 b, 3 b) longitudinal grooves (5).

According to this instant invention, distanced above said bottom (1) and parallel thereto is placed a monolithic and transversal partition (6) determinining between (6) and bottom (1) a longitudinal housing (7), within which it is possible to lodge a flat bar (8) (See FIG. 5), allowing the correct longitudinal alignment and continuity between adjacent sections of axially aligned similar shapes.

Laterally, at least one longitudinal rib (9) projects from the external lateral surfaces (2 b, 3 b) on each side of the shape. FIG. 3 shows that there may be more than one longitudinally emerging rib from each surface (2 b, 3 b), of which a number of them are short projection ribs (10) spaced along each side from the upper end downwards, while underneath them the aforementioned rib (9) is located, which has a greater projection extension, allowing retaining supporting feet (11, 12). These laterally projecting lateral feet have a limited width, for example with a range of 5 to 15 mm., and are placed spaced along said rib (9) as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, and linked to said rib (9) by conventional means, such as a screw (13) or rivets, or any other means of reciprocal linking. The function of these support feet is twofold: on the one hand they allow to settle with their ends (15) on a plane (14) within the setting material and on the other hand they allow to correct the position of each successive profiled shape axially aligned within the same vertical plane “X”, while at the same time said feet (11, 12) provides anchoring means for the shape within the concrete mass, once set.

At the upper end, adjacent to the entrance mouth (4) is placed a tearable laminar sheet monolithically joined to the mutually facing internal faces of said cavity side walls and extended longitudinally between said opposite surfaces (2 a, 3 a) along the whole length of said shape. As seen in detail in the enlarged view provided in FIG. 2, this monolithic laminar sheet (16) preferably has in its cross section a uniform thickness, although nothing prevents it from having variable thickness, and has two longitudinal section reductions (17) defining longitudinal weakening or tearing lines. These section reductions (17) are arranged parallel and preferably at the root or junction of the laminar sheet (16) to the respective face (2 a, 3 a), but nothing prevents these tearing or weakening lines to be placed at some distance internally from the walls, and preferably, determining parallel lines.

FIG. 4 offers a perspective view showing the insertion of the shape of this instant invention into a settled concrete mass (20), with the tearable laminar sheet (16) already removed. Said grooves (5) at both sides of the shape are intended to receive the vertical portions of “L” shapes (19) with their horizontal wing portion sitting against the concrete mass (20) for a proper and neat completion. It is observed in this Figure that once the tearable laminar sheet (16) is removed, the inner cavity (4) is free of any obstruction or deposit of the settled material.

In this same FIG. 4 it is further observed that the support feet (12) are staggered pieces with successive steps (21), which can be easily sectioned or bent until the profile reaches the intended vertical plane alignment “X” overcoming any deviation from the horizontal plane of the base or plate (14) on which the profiled shape rests. In turn, this succession of steps ensure the immobility of the profiled shape within said concrete mass (20) once the material has set.

FIG. 5 shows in frontal elevation by way of example the complete cross section of an upward open socket of the invention, already embedded in the set mass (20) with plate (26) and generic handrail (25) installed in the upper edge of the plate. Said plate (26) is shown immobilized using traditional means such a wedge (22), opposed to the backrest (23) and the weather strip (24). It is further observed in this figure that plate (26) using the upward open socket of the invention remains fixed and vertical to the concrete mass (20) emerging from said slab or the like without any visible means of support for the observer.

The mode of use of the present invention involves obtaining a slab, wall or substantially flat area (14), on which is placed longitudinally aligned the several lengths (if any) of the profiled shape necessary according to the length of the balcony railing or room divider. Then, the succession of profiled shapes are aligned according to the same horizontal plane by the insertion of said flat slabs (8) inside the longitudinal housing (7). Then it follows the alignment according to the vertical axis “X” of each of said shapes, supported on (14) by its bottom (1) and supports (11, 12). Then the setting material (for example concrete) is poured until said setting material is substantially flush with the upper edge (18) of the shape. Once the concrete has set, the tear-off monolithic laminar sheet (16) is removed, leaving the cavity (4) free wherein said panel (26) is placed. 

1. An extruded shape inlaid into a concrete mass, for the construction of balcony railings and dividing panels, the extruded shape comprising: a longitudinal constant cross-section profiled shape formed by a bottom and side walls within defining a cavity with an longitudinal entrance opening at its upper edge, inside which sits and holds a plate, characterized in that adjacent to said upper edge said cavity has a laminar sheet constituting an upper lid flush to said concrete mass surface, this laminar sheet being monolithically joined to the mutually facing internal faces of said cavity side walls and extended between said opposite surfaces, the union of said laminar sheet to the respective side wall being determined by a corresponding longitudinal tear line extended over the entire length of the profiled shape and defining a linear and longitudinal reduction of the cross section of lesser thickness of said sheet, constituting said tear lines the selective opening to said cavity; wherein said profiled shape comprises longitudinally alignment means for a first length of said shape with respect to a second length of similar characteristics; and wherein each outer lateral surface of said profiled shape comprises at least one lateral projection defining the retaining means of the profiled shape within the setting material, defining at the same time means for the vertical alignment of each profiled shape within a same substantially vertical plane perpendicular to the surface of said setting material.
 2. The extruded shape of claim 1, wherein said laminar sheet is monolithically joined to the mutually facing internal surfaces of said side walls, and extended between said opposite faces is a laminar sheet of constant thickness and substantially perpendicular to the vertical axis of the profiled shape.
 3. The extruded shape of claim 1, wherein the alignment means according to the same line of a first section of profiled shape with respect to a second section of a shape of equal characteristics is defined by a longitudinal housing adjacent to the bottom of the shape, and wherein a connecting flat slab is inserted from one profile to the next.
 4. The extruded shape of claim 1, wherein each external surface at each side of said shape is provided with a plurality of lateral projections, of which the lower lateral projection is fin-shaped and defines the means of retention of the profile within the set concrete mass.
 5. The extruded shape of claim 1, wherein the means defining the alignment within a same vertical plane of each shape in relation to the surface of said concrete mass are defined by supporting feet formed by laminar sheets with a limited width with a range of 5 to 15 mm, spaced from each other.
 6. The extruded shape of claim 1, wherein the sheets defining the feet of the profile are echelon stepped. 